British Cattle, Sheep, Horses, and Pigs 37 



to a chestnut. They fatten very easily and yield fine 

 beef. Devonshire cream is a special local preparation 

 from the milk of the Devon cow, and has a wide 

 renown. The "Aberdeens" and the "Angus" were 

 originally two distinct breeds, but they are now 

 combined and classed as "Aberdeen-Angus." These 

 cattle are hornless and are named after the county of 

 Aberdeen. The best beef that comes to market is 

 Scotch beef, and is from this famous breed of cattle. 



The chief sheep -rearing districts are controlled by 

 natural causes. Sheep do not require the same rich 

 pasture land as cattle. They are much hardier and 

 can thrive on scantier fare ; and although the hilly 

 parts of the British Isles are too cold and wet for 

 ordinary crops to ripen, there is often enough grass on 

 the hill-sides to feed sheep. So we find most sheep in 

 hilly districts like the Downs, the Cots wolds, the 

 Chilterns, Wales, and the Cheviot Hills. Ireland 

 possesses more cattle than sheep because of its rich 

 low-lying pastures ; while Scotland has seven times as 

 many sheep as cattle because its grazing grounds are 

 chiefly scantily-clad mountain slopes. 



In our country the sheep is bred for the sake of 

 its wool and for its flesh. The great wealth of Britain 

 in the Middle Ages was to be found in its vast flocks of 

 sheep, and the wool went chiefly to Flanders, whence 

 cloth was exported to England. An export duty on 

 wool was then one of the main sources of English 

 revenue, and in token of this the Lord Chancellor still 

 presides in the House of Lords seated upon a woolsack. 



Among the famous breeds of English sheep we can 

 mention only the most important. The "Leicesters" 

 are bred in the rich level pastures of Leicestershire ; 



